"Oh, man, I can't believe how awesome this is," I say, still grinning like an idiot as I walk to class with Harry and Gwen. "I don't think I've ever been this excited in my life."

"I know, right? This is going to be incredible," says Gwen, buzzing with excitement as well.

"I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when I tell them I have a girlfriend, and she's the coolest person I've ever met!" I say, triumphantly.

Gwen stops in her tracks for a second.

"Wait," she sputters, "I was talking about us going to the midnight show of The Hobbit. You....you've got a girlfriend?!"

"Yeah, it's Mary Jane, remember?"

"I thought you were just going out with her the one time for Aunt May's sake...."

"Well, we did," I say sheepishly, "but we ended up hitting it off really well, and she said she wants to go out again! You guys are gonna love her; she's so cool. She moved here from Metropolis, and is big into theater and music, and--"

"And she transferred to Midtown High today," Mary Jane says as she manages to sneak up on me--I was so amped up about telling the gang about my incredible turn of luck that I wasn't even paying attention to my Spider-Sense. "Morning, Tiger."

"Well, 'met' is kind of a strong word," Harry admits. "'Was present in the background staring like a dork' is a little closer. Trust me, I'm a lot more fun to get along with when I'm not shocked into paralysis."

"I sure hope so," MJ says, offering Harry an introductory handshake.

"And this," I say, "is my best friend and partner in crime, the illustrious Gwen Stacy."

"And there's my cue," Harry says, leaning his head down on the desk. "Wake me up when it's over."

As Harry starts to nod off, I roll my eyes and start scrawling out notes. I just know I'm going to have to go over all of this stuff with him when we get our homework.

"*Pssst!* Parker! Hey, Parker!"

Flash Thompson whispers from the desk behind me, trying to get my attention.

"I'm trying to pay attention to the lecture, Flash," I whisper back.

"Whatever. Who's that girl you were with at Romita's?"

"Not right now, Flash."

"Seriously, though, she seein' anyone?"

"She's seeing me."

"Heh, we'll see about that," Flash snickers.

Great. Awesome. Wonderful. Fan-frakking-tastic.

I thought going out with Mary Jane was going to make things awesome for me. Now, though, my best friend is mad at me for no readily apparent reason, and my sworn enemy--who's already dating Liz Allan, the first girl of my dreams-- is going to try and steal MJ, too.

And I'm going to have to do Harry's homework for him tonight.

I'm seriously glad I gave up being Spider-Man right about now. Because what with all this drama on my plate, I really don't think I could handle--

*KRASSSHHHH!!!!!!*

......of course.

The door explodes inwards into a hundred splinters, shattered by a big metal boot. Whoever this guy is, he's strong. I mean, I've got a decent amount of super-strength thanks to my spectacular spider-powers, but I'm pretty sure I can't just kick a door into sawdust like that.

In steps a tall man in what appears to be some kind of sealed hazard suit, carrying a big gun.

"I am looking for Harry Osborn," he says in a cold, dead, voice, an electronic buzz reverberating from his suit's speakers. "Fitting that I find him here in a school, a place of learning. Because his father is about to learn a lesson in vengeance."

What was that I said about being glad that I gave up being Spider-Man?